Old cemeteries are markers of human history; of all the love, sweat, toil, tears, joys and triumphs of the past. They are links to family we never knew, they are sources of history and they tell us a great deal about ourselves culturally and socially. Therefore, there is nothing sadder than to come across crumbling, decaying and near gone relics of cemeteries and to feel helpless to do anything about this loss of heritage. Yet, there are indeed things that can be done to restore orphaned cemeteries and return this heritage to current communities. In doing so, we all regain a sense of our own place in time and history.

1) Locate a cemetery in need of tender loving care. Many decaying cemeteries are found in our once bustling townships in country and rural areas. Some are roadside cemeteries and others are neglected plots behind long-abandoned churches in cities, towns and villages. Perhaps there is one near you, or maybe you remember one from your regular vacation town. 

2) Ascertain the ownership and responsibility for the cemetery. Orphaned cemeteries are still owned by someone or some entity and often it will be a municipal responsibility. Start by asking at your local government office and move from there. Even if a church appears to be responsible for a cemetery, sometimes the church has ceased to tend it through lack of funds or having moved its current cemetery to other places due to space constraints and nobody has thought to keep tending the old cemetery. 

3) Seek permission to restore the gravestones and other cemetery areas. This task may be performed either before or after you have formed a team to help with the restoration. Sometimes permission can be the impetus for forming a group of devoted restorers; sometimes having the restoration team in place is the only motivation that will put in train the ability to get a permission for restoration. 

4) Form a restoration team. The team’s task will be to voluntarily restore the graves, gravestones and any other relevant cemetery features to their former glory.

5) Outline your restoration project to the relevant clubs, places of worship, societies, etc. In each case, you will need to talk the to those in charge of groups. Although an in-depth restoration plan is best left to the restoration team and its own brainstorming meetings, you will need a blueprint to show others and convince them why the cemetery should be restored. Keep it short and persuasive in tone. Emphasize the historical, cultural, faith and community benefits of loving restoration of our human past.

6) Ascertain the level of decay and the type of work that needs to be done. This is about drawing up a plan.

7) Seek government and municipal grants for restorative work. Many heritage and restoration grants are offered by government and local government. Look at websites for national, regional and local governments in the areas of the arts, heritage, environmental restoration, cultural, and community services. 

Find a drawcard. This means finding something of interest in the cemetery that will give you media coverage and draw in more interest and donations to the cause.

For more info on cemeteries go to Buy and Sell Cemetery Plots. 

Hollywood Cemetery, near Richmond’s Oregon Hill neighborhood, ranks high on most Richmonders’ lists of places to show visitors. It contains the graves of many famous Americans, including U.S. Presidents James Monroe and John Tyler, Confederate President Jefferson Davis and Confederate Gen. J.E.B. Stuart. Hollywood has a lot more to offer the visitor than history. The cemetery’s 52,000 monuments — many of them extremely ornate — make Hollywood the biggest art museum in Richmond … perhaps in Virginia.

Hollywood was established in 1847 by private citizens who wanted a cemetery to rival Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, Mass., where Mary Baker Eddy, founder of the Christian Science faith, is buried with a telephone.

Elaborate ironwork and mausoleums share the grounds with the boldness of a pyramid made from James River stones and the delicacy of a Tiffany stained-glass window. Art was a big factor from the very beginning of the cemetery. It was founded as a “rural decorated cemetery” and was soon shaped to the Richmond way of life.

A landscape architect from Philadelphia came up with Hollywood’s name because he was so impressed with the many holly trees growing there. In the beginning, the name was Holly Wood — two words.

The first burial in Hollywood was in June 1849 — an infant. Even as early as 1851, the cemetery had become a public park. There were already four monuments (more than simple tombstones) and a local reporter described it as something of which the city should be proud.

Of the approximately 61,000 people buried in the cemetery, about 18,000 were Confederate soldiers. Some were killed in the war; some died long after the war. Many killed in the war have no identity. Hollywood has many unknown soldiers.

The cemetery’s most impressive sight is the huge stone pyramid dedicated in 1869 to honor the dead Confederates. The pyramid, 90 feet high, contains stones pulled from the James River near Richmond. It was built by labor from the nearby State Penitentiary.

Hollywood is loaded with lore. One of the best stories is about a cast-iron statue of a dog guards the grave of a little girl, Bernadine Rees, who died of scarlet fever in the early 1800s. Oddly, her father placed the cast-iron Newfoundland on the burial plot long before Bernadine died at age 3. Why? This 19th-century question still intrigues visitors to the cemetery. Some historians think Rees’ father was simply preserving a family treasure in hard times. The Confederate government was confiscating cast iron from families during the Civil War.

Cemeteries are intensely personal for some people, representing connections to family and friends. Cemeteries also serve as reminders of our own mortality. Part of the attraction is the gravestones, often looked upon as works of art, from their design detail to the haunting or humbling epitaphs. Most important, gravestones serve as a reminder of a person’s life, offering clues as to who they were: husband, father, friend.

You can tell a lot about a time and place by the way people treated their dead, and the Eastern Shore is no exception. This story encompasses a sampling of Eastern Shore burial traditions, ranging from church cemeteries to family burial plots to unmarked graves along the side of the road. Each cemetery, each gravestone has a story to tell. Here are two.

Broad Creek Cemetery at Christ Church Parish 

Stevensville, Queen Anne’s County, Md.

The oldest continuous church congregation in Maryland, Christ Church Parish, located in the south end of Kent Island, dates from 1632 and was organized by the Rev. Richard James at Kent Fort. Around 1650, the church moved to Broad Creek and was rebuilt in 1712 and again in 1826. The congregation moved to its current site in Stevensville in 1880, abandoning Broad Creek and its graveyard.

What’s left of the cemetery sits off Route 8 tucked behind a shopping complex and neighbored by a small industrial park and airport. In 1999, members of the Stevensville church embarked on an archaeological project to restore the condition of the graveyard and determine the location of its burial plots. “We have an ethical obligation to the people buried there,” says church member Richard Ervin, who is also an archaeologist with the Maryland State Highway Administration.

Many of the earliest grave markers were likely wood, says Ervin, because there was little native stone in the area. In the approximately 1.5-acre burial ground, only a dozen markers from 1746 to 1903 remain, all clustered in the northwest corner of the cemetery.

To date, the archaeological committee has located and marked off the original foundation stones of the church building. The parishioners are seeking grant money to fund the use of high-tech equipment, such as ground-penetrating radar, to learn what lies beneath the rest of the land. “There could be a hundred-maybe even a couple hundred-people buried there,” says Ervin, “but we really have no idea.”

Sturgis Plot 

Franktown, Northampton County, Va.

Like a miniature Stonehenge, five tombstones belonging to the Sturgis family-William, Elizabeth, and their three children-sit in the middle of a barren field just south of Franktown. The Sturgises lived in a house nearby, and when William died in 1903, like many of the area’s deceased, he was buried outside the house.

“There’s a strong tradition of burying people on family land on Virginia’s Eastern Shore,” says Wayne Stith, a Richmond resident with strong family ties to the area. Stith runs a Web site, the GHOTES Virtual Cemetery at ghotes.org, which is dedicated to identifying every one of the estimated 50,000 tombstones that dot the lower portion of the Delmarva peninsula. (GHOTES is an acronym for Genealogy and History of the Eastern Shore.) Since the summer of 2000, more than fifty volunteers have helped him gather photographs of more than 15,000 gravestones, and they’re all posted on the Web site.

Stith says it’s a challenge to catalog all the tombstones; many have weathered away or been disturbed by vandals. The Sturgis plot is in relatively good shape since it’s comparatively new. (The youngest child was buried there in 1961.) However, the Sturgis’s property transferred hands years ago and the house was razed. These five tombstones in a barren field by the side of the road are all that remain.

To view more cemeteries go to Buy and Sell Cemetery Plots. 

Buy and Sell Cemetery Plots has cemetery plots for sale from around the country. Whether you are in the market to buy or sell cemetery plots we recommend you visit www.buyandsellcemeteryplots.com.

We have a large selection of cemetery plots from most states. Deciding where your body will spend the rest of time is not a decision to be taken for granted. Not only do you need to determine which cemetery you’d like to be buried in, but also the exact area in the cemetery among available cemetery plots. A large majority of people choose cemetery plots in family clusters.

Family Preference

Some cemeteries have family plots where many people from the same family are buried near each other. Others simply want to be buried near their parents, siblings or spouse. One of the benefits of having a large family plot is that relatives can visit many graves at once without having to travel to multiple locations. Some people also enjoy the idea that, even though they might have lived far apart during life, they will spend all of eternity next to one another.

Area of the Country

In some areas of the country, graves are found more often in mausoleums and niches rather than in the ground. This is usually due low ground that floods easily; when bodies are kept in mausoleums, you don’t have to worry about the ground erosion. If you live in a place like southern California or Louisiana, you might be better off looking at mausoleums. If, however, you live in an area where the ground is high, ground plots are just fine. Also, remember that in areas where the ground freezes, bodies cannot be buried until the spring or summer when everything warms up.

Price

Cemetery plots can run from $500 to more than $10,000, depending on the location and the cemetery. While price shouldn’t be the only determining factor, it is just as important to “shop around” for cemetery plots as it is for lawn furniture and mattresses. You can usually find a plot where you can compromise price with location. A cemetery plot with a view of a wooded area or pond will be far more expensive than one in the middle of a cemetery. You might also find that cemeteries that are connected with churches are more expensive. A mausoleum will typically be less expensive than a ground plot, though this also depends on the location and the size of the mausoleum.

To buy or sell cemetery plots go to www.buyandsellcemeteryplots.com for more information. 

Buying a cemetery plot can be done ahead of an impending funeral or death. In fact, many people are now purchasing their burial plots many years before their death to lessen the impact of financial hardships for family. Most people usually have the funeral home handle the arrangements, but more and more people are finding the benefits of doing it themselves and making it a more personal experience.

1) The first step in making the arrangements is choosing a cemetery. This decision is often made by family preference. One things to keep in mind is that the size and price of plots can vary from one cemetery to another.  A great place to compare cemeteries and view the beauty is www.buyandsellcemeteryplots.com.

2) Once you decide on the cemetery you can view the available plots online or make a trip to your final resting place. You will be able to look around and find a spot you desire.  Usually the best price and be found online and Buy and Sell Cemetery Plots has a wide selection of cemeteries and plots to choose from.

3) When choosing your burial plots location be sure to compare the prices of the different burial plot options. You usually can save money by forgoing the ocean view. Just like real estate, cemetery plots with a “view” go for more than those without the view.

4) If you are price conscious, or want to do something a bit unique consider mausoleums or above ground burials, scattering gardens, or cremation burial plots. These options and others like are usually less expensive than regular burial plots.

5)  When discussing price make sure you find out all the costs involved. If you work with Buy and Sell Cemetery Plots you always know the exact costs upfront.

6) A great way to plan ahead is to prepare for the WHOLE family or certain family members.  If certain family members want to be buried together you’ll save money by purchasing multiple plots at the same time with the same cemetery. 

A few things to keep in mind.

The small or more exclusive the cemetery the sooner you need to plan ahead.

Some cemeteries have rules about what can or can’t be put on the headstone.  Be clear of these rules before you choose the cemetery.

For more information on buying or selling cemetery plots visit www.buyandsellcemeteryplots.com

Why do you make final funeral and cemetery arrangement plans? It is something everyone thinks about at some point. Yes, everyone, at some time, maybe at the funeral of a friend, and maybe in a time of sickness. It is not unusual.

A good option it is to pre-plan with a funeral home or cemetery. This works pretty well, but it’s not cheap and you will have to budget monthly payments unless you can’t pay for it all at once.

This will provide you with a peace of mind one can reasonably expect when you are planning, or even just thinking about your death. Although not very comforting, but you choose the kind of death care and price your are going to get.

The funeral and cemetery arrangement business is nearly a fifty billion dollar a year business today. Over 22,000 funeral homes, 10,000 cemeteries with public, private, religious and commercial properties scattered throughout the United States.

If you are thinking about being cremated you’re not alone as hundreds of thousands of people are making this decision. You may be disappointed to learn cremation arrangements aren’t going down in price.

Cremation is growing as a choice throughout the country. The law of supply and demand drives prices and cremation is no exception. Although the price is rising, it is still less than regular types of death care choices.

Get a good idea of what you’d like to take place for your moment of honored dignity. Figure out the costs. Either take out an insurance policy to cover the arrangements or make sure there is enough in your accounts to cover it. I recommend that you plan on being around for awhile awhile, so whatever it cost, will probably double in the next 10 years.

Make sure you work with a professional funeral and cemetery arrangement company. They will show you what you need to have in a comprehensive arrangement plan, and offer a way to make sure it could get to the loved ones who will have to implement your plan when the time comes. You, will also get a very good idea of what you may have to pay, once you know what you want.

Buy and Sell Cemetery Plots is committed to connecting people wanting to buy a burial site with those seeking to sell a burial site. Buy and Sell Cemetery Plots does not merely list burial plots and collect a fee like so many other cemetery services on the web. We handle every detail from the minute you list your cemetery plot for sale or visit our site to buy a cemetery plot. Your only contact is with the team of Buy and Sell Cemetery Plots marketing and sales professionals standing by to help you through the process of buying or selling cemetery plots from beginning to end. For more information visit Buy and Sell Cemetery Plots today!

Buy and Sell Cemetery Plots has selected YouTube as its video partner. With Web 2.0 in full force users of the Internet are expecting not only text and pictures on a website, but video, blogs and a wide range of interactive features. Buy and Sell Cemetery Plots continues to lead the charge and stay at the forefront of technology advances and online marketing.

Company President Shawn McKenzie has always been an early adapter to technological advances and continues to push the limit for his customer base.

All sellers of cemetery plots, burial lots, masusoleums, vaults and crypts have their “video” on youtube or it’s being loaded over the next two weeks. Not only are the videos being loaded up to YouTube, but they are being tagged and optimized for high rankings. Buy and Sell Cemetery Plots has an experienced team of Internet Marketers on staff that monitor and track rankings, trends, and performance so they can continually make improvements and allow the customers cemetery plots to be found ahead of the competition.Visit our YouTube Cemetery Videos to see our current listings. Visit our Buy and Sell Cemetery Plots website at www.buyandsellcemeteryplots.com for more information.

The mere contemplation of buying or selling a cemetery plot seems like a huge endeavor for most people.  At first, it seems quite easy.  Like selling a car, you list your cemetery plot in the newspaper or put it on one of the internet posting boards.  Either way, your ad to sell cemetery plots gets lost in the hundreds of other ads because it looks just like everyone else’s.  So, after months of frustration, you give up and decide instead of selling your cemetery plot, you will just put it back into the lock box. 

What has happened here?  You have lost money by not selling your cemetery plot and having to pay for your listing to sell your cemetery plot.  But, when selling a cemetery plot, there is another hidden way to loose money.  Few people are truly prepared for the type of legal and financial specialty needed to sell a cemetery plot.  So, when faced with the overwhelming decisions and complicated legal issues regarding a cemetery plot transfer of ownership, most people have to hire outside help to finish the paperwork and make sure all financial transactions are legally binding when selling a cemetery plot.

When you use Buy and Sell Cemetery Plots, not only do you get our top notch, experienced marketing and sales team ready to step in with proven methods to sell your cemetery plot, Buy and Sell Cemetery Plots also provides complete legal and financial services to make sure all transfers and escrow are legal.  From the assuring the first transfer of funds is complete and safely in escrow for sellers of cemetery plots to creation of documents to make sure that the sale is 100% legal, those who choose Buy and Sell Cemetery Plots to sell a cemetery plot have decided to have the Buy and Sell Cemetery Plots team of experts with years of field tested experience on their side.

You don’t have to loose money by advertising on cemetery sales sites that do not work or hiring extra consultants to make sure your transaction is legal.  Once you have listed your cemetery plot for sale with Buy and Sell Cemetery Plots, we will handle all of the legal matters to put you at ease.  Contact Buy and Sell Cemetery Plots today to meet our professional sales staff waiting to help you maximize your decision to buy or sell a cemetery plot!
 

Don’t forget to get your free copy of our informative white paper “How to Buy or Sell Cemetery Plots Safely Online”.

Everyday across America, people are hearing for the first time that they can buy cemetery plots online or sell a cemetery plot.  There first response is always that they did not know the option of buying or selling cemetery plots was even a choice!  Until the revolution of the funeral industry, Buy and Sell Cemetery Plots, the choices for pre-funeral plans to buy a cemetery plot or sell a cemetery plot were non-existent to the everyday person.

People who are uncomfortable with the thought of browsing cemetery plots find that buying cemetery plots online with Buy and Sell Cemetery Plots offers the incredible ease of looking through cemetery plots from the comfort of their own desktop.  With pictures of cemetery plots for sale, visitors can shop with complete discretion to make their pre-need funeral plans by buying a cemetery plot.  With the integrated, user friendly search engine type browser of Buy and Sell Cemetery Plots, the funeral industry takes a giant leap forward in providing visitors with top-notch customer service and user interface for buying a cemetery plot without the hassle and discomfort of actually going to a cemetery.

For those seeking to sell cemetery plots that have collected dust in a locked box for years, the opportunity to sell a cemetery plot only existed to those in the funeral industry leaving thousands of people will cemetery plots they could not use after the a will or a change in plans.  By establishing a proven method of connecting buyers of cemetery plots to sellers of cemetery plots, Buy and Sell Cemetery Plots has created a nationwide network bring together buyers and sellers.

Giving buyers and sellers of cemetery plots the ability to meet in with security and peace of mind, Buy and Sell Cemetery Plots builds a network of support around buyers and sellers.   Contact Buy and Sell Cemetery Plots today to meet our professional sales staff waiting to help you maximize your decision to buy or sell a cemetery plot!

Don’t forget to get your free copy of our informative white paper “How to Buy or Sell Cemetery Plots Safely Online”.

How often when you are shopping would you buy an item without a picture?  For instance, can you see a sales person trying to describe a sweater or a new lawn mover before a sale?  Most people would not buy anything based on this type of sales process.  We like to see something, get a feel for how it works, and interact with the visual before purchase.  It is part of the ownership and confidence process to see something before you buy it. 

Selling cemetery plots might seem different in the approach because most people are uncomfortable with the sight of a cemetery plot.  However, an image of the where the buyer will spend eternity is even more important in this case because it provides a visual acceptance of the cemetery plot.

Like any other real estate purchase, buyers want to be assured that the cemetery plot property is in a good, well kept location in a reputable cemetery.  Pictures help customers seeking to buy cemetery plots to visualize the area and layout of the cemetery property.  Plus, buyers are more likely to trust a seller that displays pictures of the cemetery plot.

Buy and Sell Cemetery Plots understands how cemetery plot buyers feel and the needs of the sellers of cemetery plots.  In constructive a truly innovative database listing like none other on the web, Buy and Sell Cemetery Plots provides listings with clear, crisp pictures with details about the cemetery plot.  Unlike other databases that simply list your cemetery plot on a listing board with personal contact information, Buy and Sell Cemetery Plots provides an interactive database of cemetery plots optimized with both the buyer of cemetery plots and seller of cemetery plots in mind. 

With listing that provide the buyer of cemetery plots with expansive details about your cemetery plot without giving personal information about the seller, Buy and Sell Cemetery Plots protects the buyer by verifying the seller of the cemetery plots and protects the seller by filtering the leads to provide qualified, interested buyers.

Giving the assurance of a well researched cemetery plot transaction to both the buyer and the seller of the cemetery plot, Buy and Sell Cemetery Plots provides safe, secure transactions with a high level staff prepared to handle all transactions.  Contact Buy and Sell Cemetery Plots today to meet our professional sales staff waiting to help you maximize your decision to buy or sell a cemetery plot!

Don’t forget to get your free copy of our informative white paper “How to Buy or Sell Cemetery Plots Safely Online”.